Chapter 5 Aria! Where Are You?

Aria's POV

I stood in the middle of my empty apartment, staring at the couch where Lorenzo had been lying just hours ago.

The cushions still held the faint impression of his body, and despite opening the windows, his cedar scent lingered.

"What's wrong with me..." I muttered to myself, running my hands through my hair.

I should be relieved. My life could go back to normal now. No more wounded stranger disrupting my routine, no more confusing feelings stirring in my chest every time he looked at me with those intense blue eyes.

But instead of relief, all I felt was this hollow ache that made no sense.

I was just about to shake my head and force myself to get ready for the day when my phone suddenly rang.

"Aria! Where are you? I need your help!" Emma's voice came through the speaker, thick with tears and panic.

Emma was my best friend – a vibrant Beta with gorgeous red-gold hair and bright green eyes who also spent three nights a week at a kickboxing gym. She rarely sounded this shaken.

"Emma? What happened?" My own problems forgotten, I immediately shifted into worry mode.

"I... I think James is cheating on me!" A tremor of pure rage cut through her heartbroken sobs.

James. I'd never liked Emma's boyfriend of two years. There was something about him that had always rubbed me the wrong way.

"Stay right there. I'm coming," I said without hesitation, already grabbing my jacket and keys.

Twenty minutes later, I found Emma standing outside the luxury hotel in the city center. She was wearing a cream-colored trench coat, her eyes red and puffy from crying.

"Aria!" She rushed into my arms, her whole body trembling. "I can't believe James would betray me like this..."

"Chill, tell me exactly what you saw," I said, rubbing her back soothingly.

As we walked toward the hotel entrance, I caught a glimpse of a tall figure in a dark suit entering the elevator.

Something about his build looked familiar, but the elevator doors closed before I could get a better look. That silhouette... why does it remind me of someone?

"This morning he said he had to work late, but when I was walking by here, I saw him getting into the elevator with this long-haired woman. They looked... intimate." Emma sniffled, wiping her nose. "They went to the eighteenth floor – that's where all the business suites are."

I squeezed her hands. "Then let's go find out the truth. Whatever it is, at least you'll know for sure."

Emma nodded, determination flickering in her teary eyes despite her fear.

We took the elevator to the eighteenth floor, the ride feeling endless. Emma gripped my hand so tightly I could feel her nails digging in, her palms sweaty with nervous energy.

"The suite is down that way," Emma whispered, pointing toward the end of the hallway.

We crept forward quietly, our footsteps muffled by the thick carpet. As we approached the partially open door, we heard voices from inside – and what we saw made my blood boil.

James was wrapped around a curvy woman, kissing her like his life depended on it.

Emma gasped, tears immediately streaming down her face.

"That bastard!" I snarled, pushing the door open wider.

James and the woman sprang apart, James's face going white as a sheet. "Emma? What... how did you find me here?"

"How did I find you?" Emma's voice shook with emotion. "I should be asking what the hell you're doing!"

"Emma, let me explain..." James started toward her with his hands raised.

"Explain what? Explain how you've been betraying me?" Emma's voice was getting stronger, fury overtaking her initial shock.

The curvy woman rolled her eyes dismissively. "You must be Emma. James told me all about you – how boring you are, how you have no passion. He's been wanting to break up with you for months."

"Shut up!" I stepped forward, glaring at the woman.

Emma suddenly lunged forward and slapped James hard across the face. "Two years! I gave you two years of my life!"

James clutched his cheek, trying to speak. "Emma, we just... we haven't had a real connection in so long..."

"No connection? Then why didn't you just break up with me instead of sneaking around like a coward?" Emma moved toward him again, but I caught her arm.

"Emma, he's not worth your tears," I said coldly, staring daggers at James.

That's when the atmosphere in the room shifted from tense to explosive.

That curvy woman smirked maliciously. "Do you even know who I am?" Her tone was dripping with arrogance.

I frowned. Something about this woman's attitude was seriously getting on my nerves.

"I'm Lisa," the woman said with a challenging look. "My family has serious influence in this city. You'd better not cross me."

"Really? Because what you're doing seems pretty damn wrong to me," I shot back.

"Wrong?" Lisa laughed harshly, turning to Emma. "James already told me you're like a dead fish in bed. No wonder he came looking for someone with actual fire!"

That sentence hit Emma like a physical blow. I watched as something shifted in her expression – the tears in her eyes seemed to evaporate, replaced by a cold, dangerous glint.

Her whole body went rigid, her hands clenching into fists. The vulnerable, heartbroken woman from moments ago was gone, replaced by someone I'd never seen before.

"You bitch!" Emma's voice was completely different now – low, deadly, and ice-cold. She lunged forward with a speed that caught everyone off guard, grabbing Lisa's hair.

Lisa shrieked and fought back, the two of them immediately locked in a vicious struggle.

"Let go of me! You pathetic, dumped loser!" Lisa tried to claw at Emma's face with her nails.

Emma dodged and slapped her hard. "That's for being a homewrecking slut!"

"Ah!" Lisa clutched her face, eyes blazing with fury. "Do you have any idea who you're messing with?"

"I don't care if you're the Moon God herself! You don't steal other people's boyfriends!" Emma grabbed Lisa's collar, and they crashed into each other again.

Lisa managed to grab Emma's hair and slammed her toward the wall. "I'm going to ruin that pretty face of yours!"

"Stop it!" I shouted.

But Lisa had gone completely insane, kicking at Emma's shins with her high heels. "You lower-class trash! How dare you compete with me for a man!"

Emma bent over in pain but immediately retaliated, grabbing Lisa's dress and ripping it with a loud tear. A huge section of fabric came away in her hands.

"My dress! That was a ten-thousand-dollar original!" Lisa screamed, then grabbed a glass from the table and hurled it at Emma.

"Watch out!" I shoved Emma aside, and the glass shattered against the wall, sending fragments flying everywhere.

Emma was now beyond furious, grabbing Lisa's hair and forcing her head down toward the coffee table. "You crazy psycho! You tried to hit me with a glass?"

"Help! Someone help me!" Lisa struggled, but Emma was surprisingly strong when angry.

"Emma! You need to stop!" I shouted.

That's when Lisa suddenly bit down hard on Emma's hand.

"Ah!" Emma jerked back in pain, and Lisa immediately grabbed a flower vase, raising it high above Emma's head.

Just as Lisa was about to bring the vase crashing down, the door suddenly burst open.

Nathan stepped into the room, wearing a sharp dark gray suit like he'd just come from some important business meeting.

At that moment, I was certain that the figure I had seen in the elevator earlier was Nathan.

"What the hell is going on here?" Nathan's voice was low and commanding, with an authority that immediately made everyone freeze.

Everyone stopped moving, including Lisa with the vase still raised above her head.

"Nathan?" I stared at him in shock. "What are you doing here?"

Nathan's gaze swept the room, quickly taking in the scene. "I happened to be on this floor and heard the commotion."

James looked even more uncomfortable when he saw Nathan, obviously recognizing him.

Lisa looked at Nathan with a strange gleam in her eyes. "You're Nathan Brooks, aren't you?"

Nathan gave Lisa one cold, dismissive glance before turning to me and Emma. "Are you two all right?"

Emma wiped the blood from her scratched face, laughing bitterly. "Just ran into some trash, that's all."

Nathan walked over to James, his voice ice-cold. "This is your idea of character?"

James went pale as paper, trying to stammer out some kind of explanation, but Nathan had already turned away.

"Security!" Nathan called toward the door. "Remove these people immediately!"

Several hotel security guards rushed in, and Lisa struggled as they dragged her away, still shouting threats. "Emma Mitchell! I'll remember this! I'm not done with you!"

Emma squeezed my hand. "Aria, let's get out of here."

I nodded, but as we started to leave, Nathan suddenly spoke up.

"Wait."